Chagas disease

Definition

Chagas disease is an illness spread by insects. It is common in South and Central America.

Alternative Names

American trypanosomiasis

Causes

Chagas disease is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, a parasite related to the African trypanosome that causes sleeping sickness. It is spread by the bite of reduvid bugs and is one of the major health problems in South America. Due to immigration, the disease also affects people in the United States.

Risk factors for Chagas disease include:

Living in a hut where reduvid bugs live in the walls

Living in Central or South America

Poverty

Receiving a blood transfusion from a person who carries the parasite but does not have active Chagas disease

Symptoms

Chagas disease has two phases: acute and chronic. The acute phase may have no symptoms or very mild symptoms. Symptoms include:

Outlook (Prognosis)

About 30% of infected people who are not treated will develop chronic or symptomatic Chagas disease. It may take more than 20 years from the time of the original infection to develop heart or digestive problems.

Abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias, ventricular tachycardia) may cause sudden death. Once heart failure develops, death usually occurs within several years.

Possible Complications

Cardiomyopathy

Enlargement of the colon (megacolon)

Enlargement of the esophagus (megaesophagus) with swallowing difficulty

When to Contact a Medical Professional

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if you think you may have Chagas disease.

Prevention

Insect control with insecticides and houses that are less likely to have high insect populations will help control the spread of the disease.

Blood banks in Central and South America screen donors for exposure to the parasite. The blood is discarded if the donor tests positive. Most blood banks in the United States began screening for Chagas disease in 2007.